Jessica Roller

www.jessicamakesart.com

Bio: I was born in Lima, Ohio and began drawing when I was three. I spent my whole childhood wanting and practicing to be an artist, yet I felt uninspired by formal art classes when I reached college. I ended up earning a degree in philosophy from the University of Cincinnati. Upon graduation, I married and moved to Florida where I grew incredibly depressed. I adopted two kittens named Tony and Larry and began to draw, and then paint them in an intentionally primitive manner. I painted more and more for recreation. I spent several years trying to start a “normal” career while painting in my spare time. I started 3 separate professional graduate programs, but nothing could give me the creative and intellectual fulfillment like painting. I finally reconciled with the fact that I am an artist and that this is what I should do. I now work as an artist full time in Dayton, Ohio and live with my husband and our two cats.

Statement: My artwork is a reflection of my fascination with social interactions, western pop culture, and the natural world tucked into an urban landscape. I intend to create a type of contemporary folklore that gives insight into the relationship between my own inner discourse and the seemingly ordinary, yet sublime events of everyday life. Each work is created by my imagination and for the imagination of the viewer. I wish to make art that inspires creativity and encourages possibility and optimism. I strive not to challenge the viewer to find any predetermined meaning, but rather for the viewer to respond immediately to the color, forms, composition, brushstrokes and the sublime nature of the figure(s) in each work. I identify my artwork as expressive, raw, whimsical, progressive, and yet adeptly primitive.